Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER AUGUST 2018 22 INSIGHT POLICE BEHAVING BADLY LORAIN, OHIO — A police of- ficer got into trouble recently when he had his daughter's boy- friend "arrested" — and it was all caught on his dashcam, according to the Toronto Sun. John Kovach pulled over a car driven by Makai Coleman and asked him to get out of his car, saying, "You're go- ing to jail, have a seat in my car." When asked why, he responded, "We'll make shit up as we go." A resident whose children were in the car with Coleman came out to ask what was going on, and Ko- vach said he was looking for his daughter, Katlyn, who was suicid- al. When the police offi cer asked the children to get out of the car, he noticed his daughter was in the backseat, so he asked Coleman to get out of the police cruiser, and had his daughter sit there instead — ignoring a dispatched call about a road rage incident nearby. Kovach then drove off — and was later fi red for the incident. MORE POLICE BEHAVING BADLY ATLANTA — Two police offi - cers in Georgia were suspended recently after they used a coin toss to decide whether to arrest a motorist they had stopped for speeding, according to Reuters. Sarah Webb was pulled over after driving 130 km/h. e two of- fi cers then discussed whether to give the woman a speeding ticket or arrest her for reckless driving. Offi cer Courtney Brown used a coin-fl ip app on her phone to de- cide: heads, arrest; tails, release. e toss went against Webb, so Brown and the other offi cer, Krist- ee Wilson, wrote up the charges. "I am appalled that any law en- forcement offi cer would trivial- ize the decision-making process of something as important as the arrest of a person," said Roswell Police Department Chief Rusty Grant, adding that an investiga- tion had been launched and the offi cers were on administrative leave. CHEERLEADING CO-WORKERS CHINA — Looking to attract and retain much-needed tech work- ers, some companies in China are hiring "pretty, talented girls that help create a fun work environ- ment," according to the CBC, cit- ing the country's government-run news service. Dubbed "program- ming cheerleaders," the women chat, play ping-pong with em- ployees or buy them breakfast as part of their role. "Programmers are mostly male and terrible at socializing," said China.org.cn's Facebook post. " e presence of these girls has greatly improved their job effi ciency and motiva- tion." But many on social media expressed their disapproval with the retention strategy. One called the job sexist and ridiculous: "It's like bringing Hooters to (the) workplace." Another said China has 20 per cent more men than women because of its gendercide practices. PRANK PROVES DEADLY JAPAN — A workplace prank turned deadly recently in Japan. Yoshiyuki Yoshida was arrested after shooting compressed air into a workmate's rear-end, according to the Asia Times. e two men worked at an industrial equip- ment manufacturing plant and were joking around when Yoshida sent the blast into Akio Ishimaru. A few minutes later, Ishimaru complained of feeling unwell and collapsed. An ambulance was dis- patched but he did not survive. "I just did it as a prank," Yoshida told police. "I didn't think he could possibly die from that." Police said the release of air into the body likely damaged Ishimaru's lungs. Japan has seen several deaths related to air compressors being used inappropriately. W EIRD ORKPLACE THE Vol. 31 No. 8 – August 2018 PUBLISHED BY Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2018 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. CANADIAN HR REPORTER is published 12 times a year. Publications Mail – Agreement # 40065782 Registration # 9496 – ISSN 0838-228X Director, Media Solutions, Canada: Karen Lorimer - (416) 649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com EDITORIAL Publisher/Editor in Chief: Todd Humber - (416) 298-5196 todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com Editor/Supervisor: Sarah Dobson - (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com News Editor Marcel Vander Wier - (416) 649-7837 marcel.vanderwier@thomsonreuters.com Employment Law Editor: Jeffrey R. 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Address changes and returns: Send changes and undeliverable Canadian addresses to: SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Canadian HR Reporter One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE Call: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5082 (Toronto) (877) 750-9041 (outside Toronto) Email: customersupport. legaltaxcanada@tr.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com CHRR reserves the right to edit for length and clarity. Todd Humber EDiTOR'S NOTeS Three cutting-edge events for HR H R professionals and jour- nalists have one thing in common — we're both wearing a lot more hats. In 1998, when I clocked in for my fi rst day of work with Cana- dian HR Reporter, we didn't even have a website. It was still a world where print ruled the roost. Two decades ago, HR didn't have much of a seat at the table, and was primarily seen as the ad- ministrators of benefi ts and the folks in the personnel department you turned to when hiring or fi r- ing someone. Oh, how the landscapes have changed. Legislative changes have put more onus on employ- ers when it comes to workers, and that has landed squarely on the shoulders of HR. From men- tal health to cannabis, from psy- chological safety to the #MeToo movement, there is no shortage of issues showing up (and being placed at) the feet of the CHRO. At Canadian HR Reporter, we adopted the mantra a few years ago — with the frenetic pace of technological change — that we would "give HR professionals the news and information they need in whatever format they desire." at has translated into digital editions, videos, roundtables and webinars. We're even working on our very fi rst podcast as we speak. And it also means we're getting more active in putting on events to give you professional develop- ment opportunities and the ability to network with your peers. With that in mind, here's a look at three key events Canadian HR Reporter and omson Reuters are hosting in the fall. e Tallest Poppy is is going to be a really cool, game-changing event. Tall Pop- py Syndrome is a term that was popularized in Australia. It oc- curs when people are attacked, resented, disliked, criticized or cut down because of their achieve- ments and/or success. omson Reuters teamed up with View- point Leadership and Women of Infl uence to conduct a survey on this issue — and it was completed by more than 1,500 respondents. I've had a chance to go through the results, and it is astound- ing. Clearly, this is a major issue — many believe their workplace achievements were undermined. Rumeet Billan, president and CEO of Viewpoint Leadership, and Stephania Varalli, co-CEO and head of media for women of infl uence, will be joining me as we unveil the full survey results. But that's just the fi rst step — we're assembling a panel to talk about where we go from here and how to stop this phenomenon. ere are some compelling, pow- erful and troubling results for em- ployers in this data. Date: Oct. 9. Location: omson Reuters Cus- tomer Centre, 333 Bay St., Toron- to + Live Webcast across Canada. Time: 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., with cocktail reception to follow. Register : HRReporter.com/ tallest-poppy-event Sponsorship opportunities: Email paul.burton@tr.com Mental Health in the Workplace Forum Mental health is one of the biggest challenges facing employers — as the stigma fades, and workers feel more comfortable discussing is- sues and seeking help, costs are rising. Many employers and front- line managers feel ill-equipped to respond properly and eff ectively. We're bringing together lead- ing experts from across Canada to discuss practical strategies to ad- dress and mitigate mental health issues in the workplace in a com- pact half-day forum. Speakers include Lorenzo Lisi, a partner at Aird & Berlis, who will walk you through critical legal issues related to mental health for workers. Also on the lineup is Bill Howatt, chief research and devel- opment offi cer for workforce pro- ductivity at Morneau Shepell. He will take a deep dive on preven- tion and mitigating issues. And we're bringing together a special panel to look at best practices in returning to work after a mental health leave. Date: Oct. 9. Location: omson Reuters Cus- tomer Centre, 333 Bay St., Toron- to + Live Webcast across Canada. Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register : HRReporter.com/ mental-health-forum Sponsorship opportunities: Email paul.burton@tr.com National HR Awards Join us as we celebrate the winners of the 2018 National HR Awards with a full gala dinner and cocktail reception. Presented with the sup- port of our sponsors — Venngo, Queen's University Industrial Relations Centre, HumanaCare, Benchmark Benefit Solutions, Fragomen Worldwide and Cana- dian Lawyer — the fourth annual awards honour individuals and teams from across the country. We are handing out a total of 16 awards this year, and we've moved it to a phenomenal venue. Date: Sept. 27. Location: e Ritz-Carlton, 181 Wellington St., Toronto. Time: Cocktails at 5:30 p.m.; din- ner at 6:30 p.m. Register: Email paul.burton@ tr.com or visit NationalHRAwards. com for more information. Sponsorship opportunities: Email paul.burton@tr.com. TOO TEMPTING TO RESIST MONTREAL — A Canada Post mail carrier got into trouble recently after he was caught eating a resident's tomatoes. A security camera captured the mailman munching away on the fruit growing outside a home on four separate occasions in June and July, according to CTV News. Homeowner Paula Habib said she fi rst thought the culprit was a squirrel. "He never came to the door and said, 'Look, I took one of your tomatoes and it was really good' or made a joke about it,'' she said. "He was just doing it and couldn't care less… At the end of the day, (it's) somebody stealing from your personal property and it's not right." In the end, a Canada Post employee presented the woman with a note of apology, along with a container of tomatoes. "I'm not here to have him lose his job. I know everybody is hard- working and I just feel that it wasn't right," said Habib. Credit: Tim UR (Shutterstock) A Canada Post mail carrier got into trouble recently after he was caught eating a resident's tomatoes. A security camera captured the mailman munching away on the fruit growing outside a home on four separate occasions in June and July, according to CTV News. Homeowner Paula Habib said she fi rst thought the culprit was a squirrel. "He never came to the door and said, 'Look, I took one of your tomatoes and it was really good' or made a joke about it,'' she said. "He was just doing it and couldn't care less… At the end of the day, (it's) somebody stealing from your personal property and it's not right." In the end, a Canada Post employee presented the woman with a note of apology, along with a container of tomatoes. "I'm not here to have him lose his job. I know everybody is hard- Credit: Tim UR (Shutterstock)

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